Michael David Lukas

Michael David Lukas (born March 30, 1979) is an American author best known for his internationally bestselling novel, The Oracle of Stamboul, published by HarperCollins^[1] and translated into over a dozen languages.^[2] Michael's second novel, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, was published by Random House^[3] in 2018 and received the Sami Rohr Prize^[4] as well as the National Jewish Book Award.^[5] He teaches at San Francisco State University.^[6]

Michael David Lukas
Lukas at AWP 2025
Born	(1979-03-30) March 30, 1979 (age 46)
Education	Brown University (BA University of Maryland (MFA)

His writing has been published in The New York Times,^[7] Wall Street Journal,^[8] and the San Francisco Chronicle.^[9] He has been a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey^[2] and a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Tunisia.^[10] He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts,^[11] the Santa Maddalena Foundation,^[12] and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.^[13] Lukas has taught creative writing at 826 Valencia,^[14] The Writers' Studio at Stanford University,^[15] and the University of the Pacific.^[16]

Personal life and education

Michael David Lukas reading at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco

Lukas was born in 1979 in Berkeley, California, where he grew up with his four younger siblings.

Moving East to attend Brown University,^[17] Lukas studied comparative literature and then received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the creative writing program at the University of Maryland.

He currently lives in Oakland with his wife Haley and daughters Mona and Amira.^[2]

Bibliography

Works

Title	Year	First Published
When the News and the Novel Collide[7]	2013	The New York Times
A Multiplicity of Voices[18]	2013	The Millions
Fear and Loving in Cairo[8]	2012	The Wall Street Journal
Cutting It Close Makes the Trip Worthwhile[19]	2012	The Wall Street Journal
How Should A person Be[9]	2012	SFGate
The Queen Of America[20]	2011	SFGate
The Arrogant Years[21]	2011	SFGate
Sympathy For The Pharaoh[22]	2011	Slate
Lessons From Third Grade[23]	2011	Publishers Weekly
The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore[24]	2011	San Francisco Chronicle
Workshopping War Literature[25]	2010	Virginia Quarterly Review
Friendly Fire[26]	2009	Virginia Quarterly Review
Golems, Novelists, and Other Superheroes[27]	2009	Tikkun
How to Win a Cosmic War[28]	2009	Virginia Quarterly Review
Destiny Disrupted[29]	2009	San Francisco Chronicle
A Skeptic’s Guide to Passover[30]	2009	Slate
Passover Miracles Meet Scientific Explanations[31]	2009	All Things Considered
We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land[32]	2009	San Francisco Chronicle
Mitzvah Mobile[33]	2008	Slate
Al’ America[34]	2008	San Francisco Chronicle
Question and Answer Men[17]	2003	Brown Alumni Magazine
From A to X[35]	2008	San Francisco Chronicle
Finding Nouf[36]	2008	San Francisco Chronicle
Mirror of the Arab World[37]	2008	San Francisco Chronicle
The Uncertain Hour[38]	2007	San Francisco Chronicle
Forget The Quran[39]	2006	Slate
Culinary Orientalism[40]	2007	The New York Times Magazine
Tortilla Dreams[41]	2006	Diablo Magazine
Israel Vibration[42]	2005	Washington City Paper
Tourist Class[43]	2005	Washington City Paper
The Commercial Campus[44]	2003	Providence Phoenix
My Summer Job[45]	2003	Brown Alumni Magazine
My Daddy's War Story[46]		In Posse Review
For True Bookies, a Wealth of Riches[47]	2002	The Boston Globe
A Writer’s Life[48]	2002	Brown Alumni Magazine

Awards

• 2018: National Jewish Book Award for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo^[49]
• 2019: ALA's Sophie Brody Medal for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo^[50]
• 2019: Sami Rohr Prize for The Last Watchman of Old Cairo^[51]